The Lampi Island Marine National Park is a marine national park in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

covering . It was established in 1996. It encompasses Lanbi Island and several smaller islands in the

Mergui Archipelago The Mergui Archipelago (also Myeik Archipelago or ''Myeik Kyunzu''; my, မြိတ်ကျွန်းစု) is located in far southern Myanmar (Burma) and is part of the Tanintharyi Region. It consists of more than 800 islands, varying in ...

, comprising

coral reefs A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups. Co ...

seagrass Seagrasses are the only flowering plants which grow in marine environments. There are about 60 species of fully marine seagrasses which belong to four families (Posidoniaceae, Zosteraceae, Hydrocharitaceae and Cymodoceaceae), all in the or ...

beds,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in severa ...

s, sand dunes and

tropical evergreen forest Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests (TSMF), also known as tropical moist forest, is a subtropical and tropical forest habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature. Description TSMF is generally found in large, discon ...

up to an elevation of . The national park is an Important Bird Area and one of the

ASEAN Heritage Parks ASEAN Heritage Parks (AHP) are selected protected areas in the ASEAN region that are known for their unique biodiversity and ecosystems, wilderness and outstanding values in scenic, cultural, educational, research, recreational and tourism. Its vi ...

. Access is restricted to day-time visits. Seagrass is present around the eastern part of the island, comprising '' Thalassianthus hemprichi'', '' Cymodocea rotundata'', '' Halodule uninervis'', '' H. pinifolia'' and dugong grass (''

Halophila ovalis ''Halophila ovalis'', commonly known as paddle weed, spoon grass or dugong grass, is a seagrass in the family Hydrocharitaceae. It is a small herbaceous plant that occurs in sea beds and other saltwater environments in the Indo-Pacific. The fir ...

''). The presence of

dugong The dugong (; ''Dugong dugon'') is a marine mammal. It is one of four living species of the order Sirenia, which also includes three species of manatees. It is the only living representative of the once-diverse family Dugongidae; its closest m ...

(''Dugong dugon'') on Lampi island was confirmed for the first time in March 2008. Since then, trails left by dugong to dugong grass patches were observed repeatedly. During a survey in 2013, carapaces of

leatherback sea turtle The leatherback sea turtle (''Dermochelys coriacea''), sometimes called the lute turtle or leathery turtle or simply the luth, is the largest of all living turtles and the heaviest non-crocodilian reptile, reaching lengths of up to and weight ...

(''Dermochelys coriacea''), green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') and Oldham’s leaf turtle (''Cyclemys oldhamii'') were found on Lampi Island. Pope’s tree pitviper ('' Trimeresurus popeiorum''),

water monitor The Asian water monitor (''Varanus salvator'') is a large varanid lizard native to South and Southeast Asia. It is one of the most common monitor lizards in Asia, ranging from coastal northeast India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, mainland Southeast A ...

(''Varanus salvator'') and

Tokay gecko The tokay gecko (''Gekko gecko'') is a nocturnal arboreal gecko in the genus '' Gekko'', the true geckos. It is native to Asia and some Pacific Islands. Subspecies Two subspecies are currently recognized. *''G. g. gecko'' (Linnaeus, 1758) ...

(''Gekko gecko'') were observed.

Reticulated python The reticulated python (''Malayopython reticulatus'') is a python species native to South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's longest snake, and is among the three heaviest. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List because of its w ...

(''Python reticulatus'') occurs as well. A

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by a change in some activity in its vicinity, like presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor – usually a passive infrared (PIR) senso ...

ping survey between November 2015 and May 2017 revealed the presence of

smooth-coated otter The smooth-coated otter (''Lutrogale perspicillata'') is an otter species occurring in most of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with a disjunct population in Iraq. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1996 and is threa ...

(''Lutrogale perspicillata''),

Asian palm civet The Asian palm civet (''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''), also called common palm civet, toddy cat and musang, is a viverrid native to South and Southeast Asia. Since 2008, it is IUCN Red Listed as Least Concern as it accommodates to a broad rang ...

(''Paradoxurus hermaphroditus''), small-toothed palm civet (''Arctogalidia trivirgata''),

long-tailed macaque The crab-eating macaque (''Macaca fascicularis''), also known as the long-tailed macaque and referred to as the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories, is a cercopithecine primate native to Southeast Asia. A species of macaque, the crab-eating macaque ...

(''Macaca fascicularis''), northern pig-tailed macaque (''M. leonina''), dusky langur (''Trachypithecus obscurus''),

Bengal slow loris The Bengal slow loris (''Nycticebus bengalensis'') or northern slow loris is a strepsirrhine primate and a species of slow loris native to the Indian subcontinent and Indochina. Its geographic range is larger than that of any other slow loris s ...

(''Nycticebus bengalensis''), lesser mouse deer (''Tragulus kanchil lampensis''),

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The species is ...

(''Sus scrofa''),

Sunda pangolin The Sunda pangolin (''Manis javanica''), also known as the Malayan or Javan pangolin, is a species of pangolin. It is found throughout Southeast Asia, including Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and the islands of ...

(''Manis javanica''), northern treeshrew (''Tupaia belangeri''),

red giant flying squirrel The red giant flying squirrel or common giant flying squirrel (''Petaurista petaurista'') is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae (squirrels). It is found in a wide variety of forest–types, plantations and more open habitats with scatter ...

(''Petaurista petaurista''), black giant squirrel (''Ratufa bicolour''), grey-bellied squirrel (''Callosciurus caniceps''), Pallas's squirrel (''C. erythraeus''), Berdmore's ground squirrel (''Menetes berdmorei''), long-tailed giant rat (''Leopoldamys sabanus'') and

red spiny rat The red spiny rat (''Maxomys surifer'') is a rodent species in the family Muridae that inhabits forests in Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and on Java, Borneo and Sumatra islands. In China, it has been recorded only in Yunnan ...

(''Maxomys surifer'').

References

External links

* * National parks of Myanmar Protected areas established in 1996 Marine parks ASEAN heritage parks Important Bird Areas of Myanmar {{Burma-geo-stub